The Closer

The Closer is a 2021 American stand-up comedy special written and performed by Dave Chappelle for Netflix. It was directed by Stan Lathan and recorded over the course of seven sold-out performances at The Fillmore Detroit, which ran from August 10 to 15, 2021. The Closer is Chappelle's sixth and final special under his 2016 deal with Netflix, with the other five being Deep in the Heart of Texas, The Age of Spin, Equanimity, The Bird Revelation and Sticks & Stones. The special contains segments that joke about the discrimination against the African-American community relative to the discrimination against the LGBTQ community. Reception of the special was polarizing: the special received a mixed reception from critics while some LGBTQ groups called for the special's removal from the service and some Netflix employees criticized and protested Chappelle's jokes about the transgender community; in contrast, audience reception was highly positive. Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos repeatedly defended the special as freedom of artistic expression. The special received various award nominations including for two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Variety Special and Directing for a Variety Special. Synopsis Chappelle jokes about the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, mentioning that he took the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine and jokes that it was due to its relatively lower efficacy rate. He talks about having contracted COVID-19 and being asymptomatic, comparing himself to Magic Johnson's HIV infection. Chappelle laments that while in quarantine he was concerned about anti-Asian hate, particularly Black on Asian violence.